Bay Area rescue dog saves the lives of other pets through blood donation

Clinic calling attention to pet blood donations

BluePearl Pet Hospital says dog and cat blood is in high demand, with many pet owners unaware of the importance of blood donations.

TAMPA, Fla. - Geezer, a four-and-half-year-old American foxhound, has regular appointments at Blue Pearl Animal Hospital in Tampa, but not because something is wrong with him. Instead, Geezer is a regular donor at the BluePearl Blood Bank.

Blood is in high demand at BluePearl Animal Hospitals because a lot of its patients suffer blood loss in car crashes or have a disease that causes them to not produce enough blood.

"Each unit donated can save up to three lives," explained blood bank coordinator Lalania Hill. "We process them into components, just like human hospitals do. We separate the plasma and then make packed red blood cell units as well."

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There is constantly a need for donors, so awareness is key.

Geezer is a regular blood donation at Blue Pearl.

"I think people are very aware about blood drives and human medicine," shared Lenore Bacek vice president of clinical affairs. "Not everyone realizes that dogs and cats need blood products, too. So, a lot of it is just raising awareness, showing people that it's not a scary process."

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Geezer is slightly sedated when he donates blood because he gets his nails clipped at the same time, and he doesn’t like it. However, BluePearl said most dogs would not need to be put under to give blood.